The
Best Selling Author of the 7th Century

"The
leader of our country does not know how to read and write - he is completely
illiterate."

How does it sound? Should someone be proud of this statement?
Well, Islam has its own standard where ignorance is bliss. Many Muslim
apologists and followers gleefully proclaim that Mohammad, the 7th
century godfather of IslaMAFIA was illiterate. By claiming so, they try
to prove that Mohammad was "logically" unable to write a book like Quran,
hence this pathetic book could only have been sent by God. It's interesting
how Islam selectively (illogically) exploits the sanity of logic.

Dear
readers, hang tight! Fasten your seat belts! I am about to burst one of
Islam's most colorful balloons and prove that Mohammad was indeed a literate
person.

The
idea of Mohammad being uneducated stems from a Hadith in which Aisha,
'the grand daughter' I mean the wife of Mohammad, stated: "...The
angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, "I do not
know how to read".

The
Prophet added, "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so
hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again
asked me to read (Ikra) and I replied, 'I do not know how to read---"
(Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 1, Number 3.)

Did
Gabriel, Allah's delivery person bring the Quran with him? Was he holding
the Quran in front of Mohammad? Not really! Quranic revelation, the babbling
of Mohammad, was made at different times depending on Mohammad's situation
and his levels of desire, lust and greed. According to Mohammad's daydream,
Gabriel said 'Ikra.' Mohammad was confused for a moment; he thought Gabriel
was talking about the delicious Russian Caviar Ikra. When he realized
that the meaning of the Arabic word "Ikra" is "read," he could not find
any book to read.

Actually,
a more accurate picture can be found at the end of the same Hadith mentioned
above (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 1, Number 3) where Aisha states:
"...He then released me and asked me again to read, but again I
replied, "I do not know how to read (or, what shall I read?)." This statement makes sense. Mohammad was not sure what to read so
he asked 'What shall I read?'

It
is an established fact that baby Mohammad was sent to a Bedouin foster-mother.
Apparently, Mohammad's family must have had enough money to pay this lady,
otherwise why would an Arab Bedouin take care of another's child? We must
understand that there were no public and private schools at that time,
not even "mad rat houses," I mean Madrassas. So it's safe to assume that
Mohammad was sent to a babysitter who also happened to be a baby feeder
and that along with food and toilet training, he also received an education.
As a matter of fact, Arab Bedouin mothers were famous for educating their
children. They were considered among the best teachers of young ones.

It's
true Mohammad lost his father before he was born and his mother at the
age of six. There is no historical evidence of Mohammad's stepbrothers
and sisters, but we do know Mohammad's father Abdullah, had more than
one wife. It's unknown if there was a fight over Mohammad's parent's wealth
or whether his uncle Abu-Talib gained all properties as recompense for
looking after Mohammad. Although Mohammad had to work as a shepherd boy
for a while, his uncle took him along to Syria when he was leading a caravan.
Abu-Talib also opened a shop in Mecca (Ibn Qutaibah, Ma'arif) where
Mohammad may have helped run the store.

At
the age of twenty-five, Khadijah appointed Mohammad to take a consignment
of goods to Syria. Is it possible for an illiterate person to keep accounts
and understand the intricacies of international trade? Mohammad also had
a trading partner in Mecca. This fellow, named Sa'ib, reported: "We
relied on each other; if Muhammad led the caravan, he did not enter
his house upon returning to Mecca without first clearing accounts
with me;---" So obviously, Mohammad had good working
knowledge of trade and accounting. Of course, a prerequisite to such knowledge
is literacy.

In
ancient times, perhaps even more so than today, travel meant knowledge.
Mohammad undoubtedly benefited from his many journeys. He met many different
people in many different places and quietly took note of what he saw.
When Mohammad went to the cave of Hira to mediate, all he really did was
organize the information he had gathered and make a strategy to launch
the Quran. His initial verses were not a success, but he continued to
borrow heavily from the Torah and Bible. Ultimately, after repeating the
same lie over and over again, he succeeded. God or god's mailman talking
to a human being is an absurd idea! As it is impossible in today's world,
so too was 1400 years ago.

Now
let's find more proof. In another Hadith (Sahih Muslim, Book 019, Number
4401), al-Bara' b. 'Azib, one of Mohammad's gang members testified:
"Abu Talib penned the treaty between the Holy Prophet (may peace be
upon him) and the polytheists, on the Day of Hudaibiya. -----..They
(the polytheists) said: Do not write the words: "Messenger of Allah."
If we knew that you were the Messenger of Allah, we would not fight against
you". Smart people indeed! The narrator continues-.. "The Prophet
(may peace be upon him) said to Ali: "Strike out these words!" He, (Ali)
said: "I am not going to strike them out." So the Prophet
(may peace be upon him) struck them out with his own hand----.".
If Mohammad did not know how to read, how could he know which words to
scratch off?

Despite
Mohammad's many flaws, we have to admit that he was the best selling author
of all times. Forget about being number one on the New York Time's best
seller list; forget about the success of Harry Potter, Quran is the best
selling book of all times. If Mohammad had been born in today's world,
he wouldn't have had to make a living robbing and raiding, he'd be living
a princely life on publishing royalties. He surely knew how to write.
Look at the following Hadith: "Narrated Amir ibn Shahr: --..Apostle
of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) wrote the document for Umayr
Dhu Marran--" (Sunan Abu-Dawud Book 19, Number
3021)

We
have another witness is Yazid ibn Abdullah who narrated, "We
were at Mirbad. A man with disheveled hair and holding a piece of red
skin in his hand came. - ------We then asked:
Who wrote this document for you? He replied: The Apostle of Allah
(peace_be_upon_him)"(Sunan Abu-Dawud Book 19, Number 2993)

Do
we need more testimony to debunk the claim of Mohammad being illiterate?
Well here is one more:

Ibn
'Abbas said, "When the ailment of the Prophet became worse, he said, 'Bring
for me (writing) paper and I will write for you a statement after which
you will not go astray.' (Bukhari
1.3.114)

Last
time I tried to explain this theory to a Muslim brother, he ran after
me with a blood-spattered knife that he had just used to slaughter a cow.
Actually, I should get an honorary degree from Saudi Arabia 's Islamic
University for making Mohammad an educated person. Alas! It won't happen.
Islam thrives on ignorance and the Slaves of Allah will remain happy believing
that Mohammad was illiterate.